Mumbai—The curtains may have come down on the media focus on dam affected persons whose protests of standing in neck-deep water caught the nation’s attention. But their long struggle to earn rehabilitation, what is rightfully theirs, continues amidst misery and anger against the state government. The people are now looking at the courts once again to come forward their saviour.

The media glare did work in their favour when the Madhya Pradesh (MP) government bowed down to the Jal Satyagraha protesters in Ghogalgaon, Khandwa district, by stopping the increase in water levels in Omkareswar dam. The government even heeded to their demand for compensation of land for land. But when those affected by the rising water levels in the Indira Sagar dam protested in a similar manner, a police crackdown followed and all of them were forcibly evicted from the water in Khardana village in Harda district.

“It was inhuman the way our villagers, particularly the women, were dragged out of water,” Ramvilas Rathod, a 70-year-old farmer from Khardana, told Gulf News on telephone. “Over 500 people in Khardana are affected since our homes and fields are inundated with water as a result of the rise in water levels in Indira Sagar going up from 260 metres to 262 metres.” His wheat, soya and cotton fields have gone under water but that is nothing compared to the enormous hardships faced by villagers.

The farmer described, “There is no place to sit, stand or sleep as waters have entered our homes. All of us have put up wooden makeshift stands to cook. Our children have no place to play and we fear their safety in the water. And to top it all, electricity has been cut off for the last 15 days.” He says police are keeping a close watch on Khardana and the state administration has imposed Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code (joining unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapon punishable with imprisonment). “Because of this, we are not even getting food supplies from the market.’

What is worrying the villagers is the way a survey of their homes is being conducted by state officials who are arbitrarily writing down the value of their houses as Rs 25,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 100,000. “We are baffled by this exercise. But our stand is clear. We want land for land compensation as well as other entitlements. Out of 29 villages in Harda district, he says five are in great danger of being wiped out.

Alok Agarwal, a senior activist of the Narmada Bachao Andolan told this paper, “For some years, the government kept the water levels in the Omkareshwar dam at 189 metres and Indira Sagar dam at 260. Any increase in the water levels of the reservoirs in these dams would lead to submergence of 30 villages that come under Omkareshwar and 250 villages by the Indira Sagar. A total of 8,000 and 40,000 families are being affected by these two dams.”

The government’s decision to submerge the area and thus evict the people “is not only inhuman but also illegal and unconstitutional.”

Another activist, Chittaroopa Palit, who was among the Jal Satyagrahis, says that the government’s act is a violation of the orders of the Supreme Court which, in May 2011, ruled that authorities have to allot land for land and minimum of two hectares of land well in advance of the completion of the dam construction. However, both the dams were commissioned years ago. While conceding to lowering water level in Omkareshear, MP Chief Minister Shivaj Singh Chouhan said this would affect irrigation and electricity generation.